(Optional Memorial for Saint Damasus I, Pope)
 |
"Elijah Taken up in a Chariot of Fire”
by Giuseppe Angeli 1760’s |
Readings
for Saturday of the Second Week of Advent [1]
Readings
from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary: [3]
Reading 1: Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11
In
those days,like
a fire there appeared the prophet Elijahwhose
words were as a flaming furnace.Their
staff of bread he shattered,in
his zeal he reduced them to straits;By
the Lord’s word he shut up the heavensand
three times brought down fire.How
awesome are you, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds!Whose
glory is equal to yours?You
were taken aloft in a whirlwind of fire,in
a chariot with fiery horses.You
were destined, it is written, in time to cometo
put an end to wrath before the day of the LORD,To
turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons,and
to re-establish the tribes of Jacob.Blessed
is he who shall have seen youand
who falls asleep in your friendship.-------------------------------------------Commentary on
Sir
48:1-4, 9-11
The
final nine chapters of Sirach are devoted to praise of the glory of God. The
first of these chapters is focused on God in nature, the final chapters to
great prophets and leaders of Israel. In this selection, we hear of the Prophet
Elijah who came with a fiery message. Reference is made to Elijah’s passing (2 Kings 2:1ff). The
image of Elijah is the precursor to St. John the Baptist during Advent and
echoes his prophetic work.
This
passage gives specific praise to the Prophet Elijah who clearly chastised the
Hebrew people, trying to bring them back to the faith. He is one of the great
prophets whose miracles attempted to provide proofs that God was with him and
to influence the people to repent and return to faithfully following the Law of
Moses.
CCC: Sir
48:1 696
-------------------------------------------Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 80:2ac and 3b, 15-16,
18-19
R. (4) Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
O
shepherd of Israel, hearken,From
your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.Rouse
your power.R. Lord, make us turn to
you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
Once
again, O LORD of hosts,look
down from heaven, and see;Take
care of this vine,and
protect what your right hand has plantedthe
son of man whom you yourself made strong.R. Lord, make us turn to
you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
May
your help be with the man of your right hand,with
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.Then
we will no more withdraw from you;give
us new life, and we will call upon your name.R. Lord, make us turn to
you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
-------------------------------------------Commentary on
Ps
80:2ac and 3b, 15-16, 18-19
The call to the “Shepherd
of Israel” is David’s plea for God to hear. This same “Good Shepherd” image
is later applied to God’s Only Begotten Son. While this psalm is a lament, or
plea for God’s help in time of distress for King David’s armies, we see in the
language an indication of the Messiah to come: “May your help be with the
man of your right hand, with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.”
The psalmist prays for God’s intervention and help, and in return promises
faithfulness. He implores the Lord to send the Messiah: “Rouse your power,
and come to save us.” This will be the gift that fulfills all hopes: “Then
we will no more withdraw from you; give us new life, and we will call upon your
name.”
-------------------------------------------Gospel: Matthew 17:9a, 10-13
As
they were coming down from the mountain,the
disciples asked Jesus,“Why
do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”He
said in reply, “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things;but
I tell you that Elijah has already come,and
they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased.So
also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.”Then
the disciples understoodthat
he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.-------------------------------------------Commentary on
Mt
17:9a, 10-13
This
Gospel passage is the epilogue to the story of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8). The
disciples ask Jesus: “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"
To which the Lord replies: “but I tell you Elijah has already come, and they
did not recognize him.” Here the Lord is referring to St. John the Baptist,
who came fulfilling the mission of Elijah. Jesus, titling himself as “Son of
Man” indicating his human nature, then indicates that he would also not be
recognized as the Messiah, and would suffer at their hands as well.
Jesus
is helping the disciples understand the prediction from Scripture that before
the Messiah comes, Elijah must return to prepare the Hebrews. This
prophecy is fulfilled by John the Baptist, the new Elijah (cf. Malachi 3:23-24 [4] ).
The way the passage ends can be confusing. Jesus predicts his
passion, and it is then that the disciples understand that John, fulfilling the
role of Elijah, prepares the way for the Messiah – Christ.
“Jesus’ words finally make the apostles understand that ‘Elijah
had already come’ in the sense that John the Baptist was the last receptacle of
Elijah’s mission and as such, the last and most vital link between the
perennial prophetic mission calling Israel to conversion and the Passion and
glorification of the Son of man.” [5]
CCC: Mt
17:10-13 718
-------------------------------------------Reflection:
The message for us in Scripture today carries the weight of
ancient prophecy behind it. Yeshua
[Jesus son of Sirach], recalls the prophetic mission of Elijah in the first
reading. It is a mission thought by the Sadducees to be completed in preparation
for the coming of the Messiah. When his
disciples asked the Lord if the Sadducees were correct, he told them, yes,
Elijah must come again before the Messiah will complete his mission. But he had come, and they did not recognize
him. Here he referred to John the
Baptist, described in Scripture as the very image of Elijah. Also, like Elijah, the Baptist was vociferous
in dealing with those who violated the tenets of the faith. The Sadducees did not make the connection.
Then the disciples saw.
They also knew the fate of John the Baptist, executed, and beheaded by
King Herod in a fit of drunken lust.
There would be no chariot of fire for the herald of the Son of God, just
as there would be no exalted end for Christ himself. The fireworks are reserved for his return in
glory. The Lord alludes to this as well
as he tells his friends: “So also will
the Son of Man suffer at their hands.”
What message are we given beyond a powerful reminder of how God’s
plan from before time was to send his Only Begotten Son so that we might have
salvation through him? Clearly one message is expressed by the cliché: “You
can’t judge a book by its cover.” But
perhaps that is too passive. A better
understanding would be that we, the modern-day disciples of the Lord, need to
be looking carefully for God’s presence in our lives. We cannot afford to miss the signs that God
sends for us. The big message is this,
that we must use a spiritual power of perception to view the world about
us. We must see it with awe and wonder,
as God’s salvation is at once part of what he created for us.
As our Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, says in Spe Salvi: “Faith draws the future into the present, so
that it is no longer simply a “not yet”. The fact that this future exists
changes the present; the present is touched by the future reality, and thus the
things of the future spill over into those of the present and those of the
present into those of the future.” [6]
Our faith, shaped by the past, sees the present, and its future
hope redeems us now.
Pax
[1]
The picture used today is "Elijah Taken up in a Chariot of Fire” by Giuseppe Angeli 1760’s.
[2]
S.S. Commemoratio[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the
psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is
for private use only.
[4]
Note: in many Protestant Bible translations, this citation is Malachi 4:1-5.
[5]
Fire of Mercy Heart of the Word Volume II, Erasmo
Leiva-Merikakis, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA, © 2003 p. 572.[6]
Spe Salvi 7.
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